Trial of Jesus Christ- Class Simulation + Debate (Easter/Holy Week- No prep!)

This package includes all you need to put on a class simulation of Christ's trial in the New Testament leading up to Easter! It also includes the option to not only do ancient trials of Jesus' claims, but also present debates about Jesus' claims to be God.

The package includes:
A) A PowerPoint lesson
B) Assignment instructions
C) A rubric
D) A speech preparation guide for students

Students get really excited to dress up and research their assigned roles and present their speeches and debate. This package is fully editable to suit your purposes.

The roles your students could take on in the Day 1- Ancient Trial:
- Jesus Christ
- Jewish high priest 1- Caiaphas
- Jewish high priest 2- Annas
- Saul of Tarsus (later, St. Paul)
- Nicodemus
- St. Peter
- Joseph of Arimathea

The roles your students could take on in the Day 2- Ancient Trial:

- Jesus Christ
- Pontius Pilate
- Jewish high priest 3- Amram
- Jewish high priest 4- Achaz
- Roman emperor -Tiberius
- Roman citizen- Aurelius
- Barabbas
- Jewish religious scholar and prophet--John the Baptist
- Jewish convert to Christianity- Mary Magdalene
- Jewish convert to Christianity- St. Paul
- Jew helped by Jesus- The leper of Galilee
- Jew helped by Jesus- The blind man, Bartameus of Jericho
- Jew helped by Jesus- Lazarus
- Jew helped by Jesus- Tax collector Zachaeus
- Jew helped by Jesus- the adulterous woman- Bayla

The roles your students could take on in the Day 3- Modern Trial- 2 Discussion Panels:

Discussion 1: Did Jesus exist? (Discussing the “Christ myth theory”)

Lee Strobel, journalist and researcher (for Christ’s existence, author of The Case for Christ)
Flavius Josephus, ancient Jewish scholar and Roman citizen who wrote about Jesus
Cornelius Tacitus, ancient Roman scholar who wrote about Jesus
Jason Randal, archeologist working with the National Geographic

Discussion 2: Was Jesus who he claimed to be? (i.e. Was he the son of God?) Should we believe him?

Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion
Christopher Hitchens, essayist, social critic, and author of God is Not Great
Stephen Hawking, physicist, cosmologist, and author of A History of Time and The Grand Design
C.S. Lewis, author of Mere Christianity, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Screw tape Letters
J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, convert to Catholicism
William Lane Craig, American philosopher, theologian, historian, and author of Reasonable Faith
Pope Francis